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Re: A blast from the past.

I keep a few hives with small cell foundation (4.9). I cant say they are immune to varroa, but the bees seems to be a bit more healthy and hygienic when they are on 4.9 cell foundations. They seem to be a bit more active inside the hive than the large cell bees.

Re: A blast from the past.

Would this be wax foundation? I never did have good luck with the wax. Used the plastic this year and what a difference. Not a bit of trouble and these are package bees, not any kind of regressed bee.

Yeah, I've used the plastic since day 1. Not claiming any benefits from it but even package bees seem to draw it out at about 5.0, no problem. Purchased queens do take a long time to get going, though.

Re: A blast from the past.

Well I have most my hives with 4.9 plastic and will have all by next year .
It don't really matter because when I bought them I got 500 just for the brood boxes and it's what I have.http://www.mannlakeltd.com/beekeepin...productInfo/5/
I like 5.1s wood with plastic for extracting the 4.9s did not work well flimsy .
I still have mites and I most say more then I like but I am OAV everything and its working but i'm only 4 years in to this and I well see what sm. cell does in the next few years.
I may set up a hive next year and use lg. cell and see what differences there are.
Now the sugar thing now that's some thing to read up on . I have not feed any of my big hives this year just my nucs and that was just 3 out of 13 so not much sugar Varroa is the worst I have had to deal with so far.

Re: A blast from the past.

Originally Posted by WLC

My problem with PF 120s is still ladder comb. It's annoying.

I get no more ladder comb with the PF's than I do with wood. However, I do get some brace comb (joining the PF with the PF or wood beside it) from time to time until it is drawn out properly. I simply tear it off when I find it and let the bees try again until it is straight. It usually does not take long. -james

Re: A blast from the past.

My first year I did four hives. As an experiment I did two with 100% full foundation all 4.9mm and two with foundationless, starter strip only, also 4.9mm. Now granted I was, still am, largely clueless, I could not discern any difference with any of the hives. Bad drawn comb, cross comb, laying, brood pattern was very similar across all four hives. I did have one hive that had a problem but ended up requeening that one and no problems. I did not see any with delayed laying or drawing.

I did do mite checks and didn't really see much of a difference there either. Again however I was largely clueless so very likely could have missed what may be "Major" differences that others would have seen.

Since then I've been simply supplying a starter strip of whatever size I can get cheapest to all my hives. I just figured why buy all that foundation when they don't seem to mind making it themselves :-)

Re: A blast from the past.

I don't consider myself to be a small cell proponent per say, because I use natural cell in the form of foundationless. I don't know if the smaller cells cure varroa. I don't know if the smaller cells are making my bees walk on water. All I know if that foundationless frames, bees bred from local stock, with the occasional new genetics thrown in and then allowed to raise queens that mate locally I DON'T lose hives to varroa or much of anything. I lost 2 nucs this last winter and they were pitiful going into winter and should have been combined, but I was being hard headed and trying to get 2 more queens thru the winter. Other than that no real issues. It baffles me to hear of people losing their hives all the time and the troubles they have with varroa because I don't treat (last treatment was oxalic acid vaporization 2 years ago, and maybe 3 years prior to that the same). Basically I let the bees deal with the varroa on their own. If I do see DWV showing up then I will hit with 3 treatments of OAV a week apart, but as I said that was 2 years ago and then once again 3 or 4 years prior to that. Oh yeah and I don't have to pay for foundation.